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A lot of the best-known women's rights workers of the 19th and early 20th century were Quakers. One look at this group of basketball aficionados and you just know a lot of 'em were gonna grow up to make some societally challenging trouble in the spirit of Lucy Stone, Susan B. Anthony, and Alice Paul.

Very interesting pic. I write mysteries set in the 1920s, and my current work-in-progress is set at the Friends School, Saffron Walden, in England (which I attended, though not in the 20s). I was trying to find out what the girls would have worn for sports back then. When I first went, we had foul divided skirts of heavy material (serge?) down to our knees. By the time I left, we wore cotton shorts mid-thigh. I wonder if things changed as drastically between 1917 and 1926, or if they were ever just the same in England as in the U.S.

Each girl with her arms crossed the same way, must have been planned. If you’re going to take a picture of the team, you might as well make it look as intimidating as possible – as possible as one can with such charming outfits.

I mean, the girls would hardly intimidate their opponents if they if they were curtsying with cheery, beautiful smiles. These girls have their "game face" on.

>> This photo is of privileged young women attending an exclusive private school. The confidence they exude is in the knowledge that they're so much better than everyone else

What a ridiculous and unfounded generalization. My grandmother, a lovely person who was a Quaker missionary in China for 20 years, graduated from Friends. I can assure you she hardly considered herself "better than everyone else."

I'm both a college basketball fan and a supporter of the general advancement of women in today's world. In my junior/senior high days (late 1950s/early 60s), girls' basketball was played with designated offensive and defensive players who were not allowed to cross mid-court. Also, no more than three dribbles before a pass. Translation: it was tough for them to break a sweat. This photo is of privileged young women attending an exclusive private school. The confidence they exude is in the knowledge that they're so much better than everyone else, not in their athletic prowess. Truly athletic women were not even assumed to be able to run a Marathon distance (26 miles, 385 yards) until Joanie Benoit showed the world what a real woman is in the L.A. Olympics. Yeah, that recent.

I remember the goofy noise my corduroy pants made when walking around as a kid. I wonder what sort of noise emitted from the puffy pants as these girls ran up and down the court...probably like a flag waving in the wind.

A beautiful shot of confident young ladies. I sometimes wonder how helpful the equal rights and feminist movements have really been to our young women today, so many of whom seem obsessed with their appearance and popularity. These girls radiate more self-assurance than a hundred of their contemporaries could muster.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.